Brian Eno

Photograph of Brian Eno at a 2006 Long Now Foundation discussion with Will Wright (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Brian Eno (Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle, 1948 – ) is a musician, composer, producer who’s generally regarded as the grandaddy of ambient music.

Born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, Eno started off as an art student but quickly got involved in the London music scene as a producer.

His influence in music has been pervasive. He’s recorded with the likes of Genesis, Roxy Music, Robert Fripp, Devo, U2, David Bowie, The Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode and Gavin Bryars.

On his own records he’s best known for exploring ambient music. In the 1970s, before the New Age transformed ambient music into a highly marketable commodity, Eno released so-called environmental music with works such as Music for Films and Music for Airports. A series of ambient and experimental works followed, some solo and some in collaboration with others interested in the genre.

In the 1980s he recorded the haunting and ethereal Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks, a soundtrack for the space documentary, For All Mankind. Eno also recorded solo rock and roll LP’s such as Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain and King’s Lead Hat. Less commercially successful than his ambient work, these are nonetheless admired by his more serious fans.

Related Posts » Rock and Roll

Related articles

• 12 O’Clock Track: Cluster, “Sowiesoso” (chicagoreader.com)
• Ambient (music182.wordpress.com)
• Peter Broderick Spins Arvo Pärt, Brian Eno and More (wqxr.org)
• The Great Pretender (ladygarfunkel.wordpress.com)

Gospels

Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, Incipit to the Gospel of Matthew via Wikipedia

The (canonical) Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) containing the events of Jesus Christ’s life and his teaching. Essentially, they offer the message of salvation from personal sin through God’s forgiveness.

Non-believers often point out apparent contradictions among the different accounts while believers usually see them as presenting a holistic harmony, not unlike four-channel audio that amplifies a single message.

Wikipedia nicely outlines the etymology of the word Gospel:

The word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell ^[1] (rarely godspel), meaning “good news” or “glad tidings”. It is a calque (word-for-word translation) of the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, euangelion (eu- “good”, -angelion “message”). The Greek word euangelion is also the source (via Latinised evangelium) of the terms “evangelist” and “evangelism” in English. The authors of the four canonical Christian gospels are known as the four evangelists.¹

There are other so-called gospels that are not recognized by most Christian Churches as canonical.² They may, however, be acknowledged as offering some insights or points of interest concerning the total situation in the ancient world around the time of Jesus. On the down side, Church officials usually teach that non-canonical gospels might complicate things or distract otherwise genuine seekers, making it harder for them to find the true light of God.

Again, this is what most Christian Church officials will say. Contemporary Gnostics and New Age enthusiasts, however, would probably fire back that dried up and hypocritical Church structures and teachings would get in the way of their finding God, just as much if not more than a few allegedly misguided passages in a non-canonical gospel.

—

¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel

² For a list of these see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel#Non-canonical_gospels

Related Posts » Bible, Synoptic Gospels

Related articles

• Gospel of Luke (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• Gospel of Mark (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• Gospel of John (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• Gospel of Matthew (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• Gospel Life (garrettventry.wordpress.com)
• The earliest gospels – Marcion’s gospel (according to P.L. Couchoud) (vridar.wordpress.com)

Shakti Gawain

Abstract - by Matthew Burpee via Flickr

Shakti Gawain is a contemporary American spiritualist and author who lives in California. Her books have sold over 10 million copies.¹ The most popular of her publications are Creative Visualization and Living in the Light, although she has penned several others. ²

Gawain writes about how she spent time working as a cleaning lady before she became a popular spiritual teacher. She believes that positive attitude and expectation create a positive reality. She also advocates an eclectic approach to living in relation to the Divine, an approach which includes prayer, chant, meditation, and the “creative visualization” of desired outcomes.

Just how effective creative visualization really is remains a matter of debate. Many visualizers’ visualizations seem to fall flat—that is, they just don’t happen. Some common explanations for the failure of a visualization to come about are “the time wasn’t right” or “I didn’t focus well enough” and so on.³

But for Gawain, it seems that her visualizations for prosperity did come about.

Sympathetic to Carl Jung’s idea of synchronicity, Gawain rejects the Eastern belief in reincarnation on the grounds that it’s a limiting man-made theory. Along the lines of the (some would say pioneering) channeler Jane Roberts, Gawain stresses the importance of living in the present while recognizing past influences.

Most recently, her website stresses the importance of balancing work and play, along with responsibilities to self and others.

I am finding a balance in my life of work and play, of my responsibilities to others and to myself.⁴

Related Posts » Active Imagination, Channeling, Shakti

¹ http://www.shaktigawain.com/about

² See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakti_Gawain

³ Another explanation could be that the personal desire wasn’t in line with God’s will. But we don’t hear that one too much from creative visualizers because they usually (and almost dogmatically) claim that we create our own reality.

⁴ http://www.shaktigawain.com

Related articles

• Simple Daily Ways to Keep Yourself Open and Curious (reinventplay.com)

Gaia Hypothesis

A rendition of life on planet earth via Wikipedia

The Gaia hypothesis was proposed by the British scientist, author and environmentalist James Lovelock (1919-). It suggests that the Earth, itself, is a self-regulating entity geared toward sustaining life.

In his own words, Gaia is

a complex entity involving the Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and soil; the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet.¹

This view is alternately accepted and rejected by various scientists. And it’s often mistaken for Lewis Thomas‘ speculation that the Earth, if viewed from space, looks like a single cell.

The Gaia hypothesis is also used out of context by some New Age enthusiasts who uphold it as support for the pantheistic idea that God and the natural, observable world are identical.

—

¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

Related Posts » Great Mother

Related Articles

• Bestselling green titles of the decade (guardian.co.uk)
• The best-selling green books of the decade (guardian.co.uk)
• Blog – Artificial Life Shares Biosignature With Terrestrial Cousins (technologyreview.com)
• Giving Misanthropy a Bad Name: (brothersjuddblog.com)
• Vivienne Westwood’s London (theglobeandmail.com)
• Craig K. Comstock: Will Our Species Survive Another Century? (huffingtonpost.com)
• NASA Symposium Marks 50-Year-Search for Signs of Life in Universe (prnewswire.com)
• Not just tilting at windmills (thebrightlibertarian.blogspot.com)
• Earth at the Tipping Point: Global Warming Heats Up (time.com)
• Vivian Westwood doc is a trip and a half (thestar.com)
• Gaia (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• Gaia is a tough bitch… (panokroko.wordpress.com)
• Guest Post: Kenneth G. Bennett – author of the Gaia Wars (diaryofacambridgestudent.wordpress.com)
• Project Gaia (sweet-symbiosis.com)
• Apocalypse 2012: The World After Time Ends (DVD Review) (epages.wordpress.com)
• The Gaia Wars Blog Tour: Author Interview! (thebookgeeksreviews.wordpress.com)
• Lynn Margulis 1938-2011 “Gaia Is A Tough Bitch” | Conversation | Edge (plexity.wordpress.com)

Hermes Trismegistos

Trismegistos as depicted in D. Stolcius von Stolcenbeerg: Viridarium chymicum, 1624 via Wikipedia

Hermes Trismegistos (“Hermes the Thrice Great” or “Thrice Blessed”) is the supposed author of the Hermetica, an apparently divinely inspired ancient text concerned with cosmology and the dynamics of the spiritual life.

Scholars assume that the name Hermes Trismegistos comes from a combination of  the Greek deity Hermes and the Egyptian deity Thoth.

The content of the Hermetica could be quite fantastical, approaching something we’d see on TV or film sci-fi and fantasy epics.

The Hermetica, is a category of papyri containing spells and initiatory induction procedures. In the dialogue called the Asclepius (after the Greek god of healing) the art of imprisoning the souls of demons or of angels in statues with the help of herbs, gems and odors, is described, such that the statue could speak and engage in prophecy. In other papyri, there are recipes for constructing such images and animating them, such as when images are to be fashioned hollow so as to enclose a magic name inscribed on gold leaf.¹

The Alembic of Hermes Trismegistus: Inrō (WIP) 18 by the justified sinner via Flickr

Towards the end of the Classical period the name also referred to the alleged author of several esoteric treatises on alchemy. These were jealously guarded over the centuries, coming to light in the 1600′s as the study of alchemy became fashionable in some European circles.

In one treatise attributed to Trismegistos, the author speaks of God’s inherent bisexuality and of an evil future time when

No one will gaze into heaven. And the pious man will be counted as insane, and the impious man will be honored as wise.²

However, Hermes Trismegistos remains a complicated and somewhat mysterious figure. A 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia called the Souda refers to him as an exemplar of the Christian trinity. And New Age groups have their own esoteric take on this enigmatic character.

—

¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes_Trismegistus

² Willis Barnstone, ed. The Other Bible, p. 578.

Related articles

• Hermes (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• Street Art – Hermes (daydreamtourist.com)
• History of Alchemy (bchq33.wordpress.com)
• Thoth, Hermes & the Word (hiddenlighthouse.wordpress.com)
• Hermes (freshfolk.wordpress.com)
• Mormonism as Hermetic Christianity (part 2) (church-discipline.blogspot.com)

Kali

Hindu Goddess Kali. This photograph was taken during Kali Puja at Naihati, a town in West Bengal, India, byPiyal Kundu via Wikipedia

In Hinduism it’s believed that the goddess Kali is a manifestation of God‘s destructive side. She is also regarded as the Great Mother, the giver of life.

The Hindu god Siva, known as the cosmic dancer, also has a destructive side. In fact, Siva’s dance is known as a dance of destruction. But Kali’s power is believed to be so great that she is often depicted in popular art as standing on top of a subdued Siva.

Kali’s name has been associated with the Vedic god of fire, Agni. Devotion to Kali, a goddess of violence and grace, is most prominent in W. Bengal. New Age and feminist thinkers around the world have become interested in her potential as an icon for apparent spiritual ‘realism’ and sociopolitical liberation.

However, it’s doubtful that animal rights activists would use Kali as an icon. Her temple in Kolkata still practices regular animal sacrifice by cutting the animal with a knife.

Some Jungians, scholars and writers try to equate Kali with other female deities like the Chinese Kwan Yin and the Egyptian Isis, and also with The Blessed Virgin Mary (who is not a deity but a saint).

Related Posts » Anima, Death and Resurrection, Goddess vs. goddess, Great Mother, Ramakrishna (Sri), Yuga

Related Articles

• Women as gurus I: the Kali Practice (enfolding.org)
• INDIA-PAKISTAN: The Trial of Kali (time.com)
• Kali Mantra (prophet666.com)
• How the west interprets India’s sacred texts (vmohanty.com)
• Early mystic experiences of Sri Aurobindo (auromere.wordpress.com)
• Indiana Jones Chalice of Kali Prop Coming! (gadgets.gunaxin.com)

Medicine Wheel

Medicine Whee via Wikipedia

The Medicine Wheel comes in several variations. Essentially it’s a wheel-shaped pile of stones built by several Native American groups on sites of sacred power and used for ritual and meditation.

Some believe that aliens had a hand in the medicine wheel.

Today, adaptations of the medicine wheel are used in New Age and holistic therapies, where illness is believed to be caused by discord or imbalance among inner and outer energies. Treatment consists of guiding the ill person through the disturbance that created the illness, along a healing path apparently outlined by the wheel.

Search Think Free » Adamski (George)

Related Articles

• Open Thread and Diary Rescue (dailykos.com)
• The Guardians (socyberty.com)
• Buddhist Symbols: The Dharma Wheel (brighthub.com)
• Story colored glasses: Better confluence diagrams (storycoloredglasses.com)
• What Is Naturopathy? (sandwalk.blogspot.com)
• The Path (funcass.blogspot.com)
• There is no alternative medicine, only unproven medicine (kevinmd.com)
• Dr. Bernie Siegel Joins Albany’s American Meditation Institute’s CME-Accredited Holistic Medicine Course for Healthcare Practitioners (timesunion.com)
• Friday Links – Hands and Pain, Complementary Medicine, Ragweed (theasthmamom.com)
• Medical Expert, Alan R. Gaby, M.D., to Publish ‘Nutritional Medicine’ – A Textbook for Healthcare Practitioners (prweb.com)

Add more, report errors or voice your opinion by posting a comment

Magnetizers

Robert Fludd (1619) via Wikipedia

The “magnetizers” as they came to be called were a group of 18^th century healers believing in the curative power of magnetic fields.

As early as the 16^th century, it was known that lodestone (magnetite) attracted iron filings. The Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus (1493-1541) experimented with the alleged healing properties of powdered lodestone. Influenced by Paracelsus, Robert Fludd (1574-1637) introduced the idea of magnetism as a panacea in England.

The most prominent magnetizer was Franz Mesmer (1734-1815). Mesmer became a celebrity in Paris by practicing elaborate ritualistic healing. Wearing bright ceremonial robes, he sat his patients in a circle around a tub of apparently magnetized water, filled with symmetrically arranged glass and bottles. Mesmer then waved magnetic wands around his clients who, in turn, held iron rods extending from the tub.

Later, Mesmer discerned that his treatments were equally effective if he excluded the magnetic aspect and simply waved his hand.

This may look like an early example of the placebo effect but it differs because Mesmer came up with an alternate theory to explain his results.

Mesmer believed in a natural, universal healing power that he called “animal magnetism.”  Although forms of group hypnotism may be traced to ancient civilizations, in 1841 an English physician, James Braid, witnessed a Mesmeric séance. Braid would later coin the term “hypnotism,” derived from hypnos, the Greek god of sleep.

A whole host of New Age enthusiasts followed up on ideas of animal magnetism and the power of suggestion. Recently, magnet therapy has once again become something of the rage for alleviating suffering due to arthritis and muscular pain.

Some view this as a quaint delusion, not terribly harmful since magnets are inexpensive. But many contemporary physiotherapists use magnets to alleviate suffering.

Search Think Free » Charcot, Clairsentience

Related Articles

• Magnetic Healing Through the Ages (theness.com)
• Film Review: Mesmer (cinemaroll.com)
• The Magnetic Therapy Water Wand: A Debunking from History (quackometer.net)
• Magnets, Morality, and Reasoning (psychologytoday.com)

Add more, report errors or voice your opinion by posting a comment

The New Age

Search For Infinity: Christian Halderman

Some contend that the idea of the ‘New Age’ originated as a marketing category in the 1980s, with New Age style  ideas going back, of course, to the 70s and 60s.

Others note, more comprehensively, that the media also uses the term, as do many individuals and organizations. Whatever its origins, the ‘New Age’ refers to almost anything relating to contemporary spiritual discourse and practice.

New Age books, music, lectures, workshops, videos and websites deal with humanity’s development, usually with the goal of self-actualization and sometimes global transformation.

At the outset of the 20th-century, the American psychologist and philosopher William James outlined his The Varieties of Religious Experience several innovative spiritual trends remarkably similar to today’s concept of the New Age:

…for the sake of having a brief designation, I will give [it] the title of the ‘Mind-Cure movement.’ There are various sects of this ‘New Thought,’ to use another of the names by which it calls itself.¹

From the 1980s to around the new millennium religious fundamentalists, especially of the North American Christian variety, targeted the New Age as the workings of Satan. Important figures like C. G. Jung, Rudolf Steiner and Fritjof Capra were caricatured as Satanic hostiles to apparently ‘true’ fundamentalist versions of the Christian faith.

However, the emphasis of fundamentalist reactionary attacks has arguably shifted from perceived psychological and spiritual threats to scientific ones. Believers in evolution sans God are the new devils in the flesh to be countered and corrected by those single-minded Fundamentalists who believe they have a privileged interpretation of Christian scripture.

This shift is probably due to recent advances in mapping and sequencing genomes. The possibilities of this technology are staggering, and the new is always scary to those deeply entrenched and invested in longstanding cultural biases.

—

¹ William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Penguin, 1985 [1902], p. 94.

Search Think Free » Akashic Records, Chakra, Channeling, Da Free John, Darwin (Charles Robert), Druids, Eno (Brian), Heart Sutra, Kali, Magnetizers, Maslow (Abraham), Medicine Wheel, Moses and Monotheism, Neo-Paganism, Pantheism, Peebles (Dr. James Martin), Platonism, Prime Directive, Reincarnation, Remote Viewing, Roberts (Jane), Rock and Roll, Spirit, Sufism, Third Eye, Transubstantiation

At Earthpages.org

• “The New Age and Remote Viewing“

Add to this, report errors, suggest edits or voice your opinion by leaving a comment

NeoPaganism

Holy Cross Campus - Rhinebeck, NY - 10, Mar - 02: Sébastien B.

NeoPaganism is an umbrella term for current spiritual movements, founded and practiced mostly in the so-called developed world, that harken back to the pre-Christian era and Middle Ages.

The overall aim apparently is an attempt to restore and further develop apparently lost and repressed forms of spiritual knowledge and practice.

Some writers seem to imply that a golden era of humanity existed when Goddess worship was dominant.

NeoPaganism has some leading figures who may express the core beliefs of many adherents, but most describe themselves and the movement as anti-authoritarian. There are, however, big fish and little fish. In academic circles, for instance, Starhawk figures prominently and many lesser known seekers find inspiration through and try to emulate her example.

J. Gordon Melton argues in The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (1992) that NeoPagans differ from the New Age movement in that New Age enthusiasts tend to generalize diverse religious ethics, cosmologies and practices to a single belief in the ‘Universal Love’ within ‘All That Is,’ whereas NeoPagans practice within a variety of relatively small groups or Circles, such as Church of Circle Wicca (later renamed Circle Sanctuary).

Sparrow1969 adds:

“Being a Pagan myself, I can tell you that the symbol pictured in this post is not pagan at all…it’s a Star of David.” » See in context.

Search Think Free » Pagan, Starhawk, Theism, Barbara G. Walker, Witch

Add to this, report errors, suggest edits or voice your opinion by leaving a comment